Westpac Banking Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Howmet Aerospace Inc. $HWM

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Howmet Aerospace by 34.1% in the first quarter, selling 10,363 shares and leaving it with 20,013 shares valued at about $4.6 million.
• Howmet posted strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with EPS of $1.22 on $2.31 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 19.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on the stock, with multiple firms raising price targets and 18 analysts rating it a Buy; the consensus target price is $293.21.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its position in shares of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM - Free Report) by 34.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,013 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,363 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Howmet Aerospace were worth $4,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 119.7% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Howmet Aerospace during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Howmet Aerospace by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 125 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Howmet Aerospace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Howmet Aerospace by 65.1% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 137 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.46% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Howmet Aerospace news, EVP Neil Edward Marchuk sold 41,932 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.50, for a total transaction of $11,300,674.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 65,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,545,797.50. This represents a 39.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Howmet Aerospace Price Performance

NYSE:HWM opened at $278.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Howmet Aerospace Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.45 and a 52 week high of $290.63. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $266.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.62 billion, a PE ratio of 64.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.19.

Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.11. Howmet Aerospace had a return on equity of 29.27% and a net margin of 20.23%.The company had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.86 EPS. Howmet Aerospace's quarterly revenue was up 19.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Howmet Aerospace has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.880-5.000 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.220-1.240 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Howmet Aerospace Inc. will post 5.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Howmet Aerospace Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Howmet Aerospace's payout ratio is presently 11.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on HWM. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $265.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Howmet Aerospace from $303.00 to $311.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.21.

About Howmet Aerospace

Howmet Aerospace Inc is an industrial technology company that designs, manufactures and repairs engineered metal products for the aerospace, transportation and industrial markets. Its product portfolio includes precision castings and forgings, engineered fasteners, seamless rolled rings, and complex components for turbine engines, airframes and industrial gas turbines. The company also provides aftermarket services such as component repair, overhaul and parts distribution to support the operating fleet of commercial and military customers.

Howmet serves a global customer base of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket operators, with manufacturing, service and distribution facilities across North America, Europe and Asia.

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